PBP Commentary

Coming up we have a welterweight MMA rules bout between Marcko Poliesten (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class) and Jack Conor (ranked 0 p4p, 0 weight class). The crowd giving both fighters a great reception on their way into the arena. That's good to see.

Poliesten
vs
Conor

186 cm
22
171 lbs
0 - 1 - 0

180 cm
22
170 lbs
0 - 0 - 0

BJJ Blue Belt
Brawler
Cuts easily

Good takedowns
Brawler
Determined

Ladies and gentlemen. This fight is 3 rounds, in the welterweight division.
Introducing the fighter to my left, fighting out of the red corner.
With a record of 0 - 1 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Marcko Poliesten!
And introducing the fighter to my right, fighting out of the blue corner.
With a record of 0 - 0 - 0, fighting out of St Petersburg, Jack Conor!
The judges for this bout are Viktor Lagutenko, Sergei Dronov and Illya Tyunina.

The bell rings for round one and we are underway!
Conor fails in his attempt to clinch.
Poliesten looks exhausted already! Oh dear, he should have come in in better shape than this!
Poliesten tries to clinch but Conor is having none of it.
Poliesten shoots in for a takedown but Conor shows good takedown defense there and keeps this one on the feet.

Conor shoots in and scores a nice double leg takedown into half guard.
Conor sitting and controlling from the half guard.

Conor decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.

That's one minute gone in the round.

Conor looking for a takedown here - he's got it.
Poliesten knows he needs to get back to his feet asap. He's simply no match for Conor on the ground.
Conor wants to pass the guard but Poliesten is keeping the position.
Conor sneaks a leg through and gets to half guard. That was like a knife through butter how easily he passed Poliesten's guard.
Conor wants to stand up but Poliesten has a hold of him and won't allow it.
Poliesten is looking to improve his position.

Conor is trying a forearm choke… I don't think that's going to do much at this level of the game.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Conor slows the pace down in half guard.
Poliesten is trying to control but can't.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Conor is figuring out what he wants to do next.
Conor trying to control the action but Poliesten is working from the bottom.
Conor stalling.
Let's hope that Conor has the urge to step up the pace any second now because for the last 15 or 20 seconds he's just been holding on tight.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
There's not a lot going on here and the crowd are letting the fighters know they're not willing to tolerate a lack of action.
Conor working the head and body with strikes.
The referee calls for the fighters to work.
Conor's corner are shouting for him to control the position and he seems happy to oblige.

Despite being in the dominant position, Jack Conor just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.

Conor shoots in for a takedown and gets it.

Conor decides to stand up and try his luck on the feet.

Conor gets the takedown into side control.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jack Conor dominated that round.
Well, the break between rounds is over. Let's get back to the scrappin!

Poliesten tries to close the distance and clinch but Conor swats him to one side with an open hand palm strike and circles away.
Marcko Poliesten seems to be the more aggressive standup fighter in this bout.
Conor wants to clinch.

Conor shoots in and gets a takedown into half guard. Conor showed some decent athleticism there.
Conor throwing shots but they're hitting the canvas more than the man.
Conor content to control rather than advance.
Both fighters are absolutely exhausted here.
Poliesten wants to control but Conor is keeping busy and won't allow it.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Conor perhaps working for something from half guard, or maybe not. It looks like he's just sitting there.
Conor passes to full mount!
Conor controlling his opponent.

Conor with some aggressive grappling here. He's looking for submissions here, rather than waiting for the opportunity to counter.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
Conor lands with some vicious ground and pound - can Poliesten hang on?
Conor controlling his opponent.
The fighters are pressed up against the cage, both looking to find a bit of space to work.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Conor thowing shots but they're missing.
Conor controlling his opponent.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
My god... these two guys really need to pick up the pace or everyone will leave to go get a beer.

Despite being in the dominant position, Jack Conor just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Poliesten keeps the fight on the outside.

Conor looks for a takedown. He's got it. We're now in half guard.
Conor looks to score some points with some ground and pound.
Conor throwing punches and elbows but they're not doing any damage.
Conor trying to control the pace.
And that’s the end of the round – the fighters go back to their corners.

Jack Conor showed his class in that round. I'd imagine he'll take it on all the scorecards.
That's the end of the round. The referee orders the cornermen out of the cage so we can get back down to business. This is the final round!

Conor shoots in for a takedown and gets it. Let's see what he's got on the mat.
Conor is frustrating his opponent with some stalling tactics from top position.

Poliesten is working an open guard so Conor takes the opportunity to get back to his feet.

Conor drives through with a takedown into guard.
Poliesten is working from a closed guard but he's struggling to control his opponent.

That's one minute gone in the round.
Poliesten keeping moving, preventing Conor from controlling successfully.
Both fighters are breathing heavily.
Conor slows down the pace of the fight for a moment. He'll need to remain active if he doesn't want to see the fight stood back up.
Conor wants to control from the top but Poliesten keeps moving.
Conor stands up over Poliesten, holding his feet. He dives back in and lands a decent shot to the head.
Conor looking to control the position here, rather than advance.
The ref warns both fighters not to hold the cage as they work up against the meshing.

That's two minutes gone in the round.
A lull in the action here being met with boos from the crowd.

Despite being in the dominant position, Jack Conor just isn't active enough and the referee decides to stand the fighters back up.
Poliesten doesn't succeed with the takedown

and Conor counters with a single leg into guard. Poliesten didn't expect that.
Poliesten wants to sweep but no luck.
Conor seems content to control from guard here. He's going to have to remain active though if he doesn't want to get stood back up.

That's three minutes gone in the round.
Conor scores with a decent looking elbow strike.

Conor stands up from guard. Let's bang!

Conor gets a takedown into half guard.
Poliesten has no desire to be mounted, so is trying to control. Conor is working away from the top position though.

That's four minutes gone in the round.
Conor with a momentary lay and pray from half guard.
Marcko Poliesten has stepped it up - he knows he needs a finish here!
Jack Conor is fighting for a decision here - he's started to take the cautious approach.

And that's the end of the fight!
Jack Conor comfortably won the final round on my scorecard.
Well Conor has outworked and out performed his opponent in all aspects of the game today. He was simply too good and the decision should be no more than a formality. Over to the ring announcer for the scorecards.

Ladies and gentlemen, after 3 rounds of action, we go to the scorecards for a decision.
Judge Viktor Lagutenko scores the fight 25:30
Judge Sergei Dronov scores the fight 25:30
Judge Illya Tyunina scores the fight 25:30

In favor of your winner, by unanimous decision... Jack Conor!